Hydrocarbon burner



U. G. KNAUFF' HYDROCARBON BURNER .Fame 17., 1924 Filed July 1, 1922 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Patented June 17, 1924.

HYnRooAaBon Brianna.

Application filed July 1, 1922, Serial No. 572,282.

To all whom it may concern:

7 Be it known that I, ULYSSES G. LNAUFF,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydrocarbon Burners; and 1'. do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention provides an extremely simple and highly efficient hydro-carbon burner especially adapted for use in hot is a cylindrical dome 13, the lower edge of water and steam boilers and in furnaces such as used in domestic heating'plants, but

the burner is, nevertheless, capable of more general use.

Generally stated, the invention consists of v I hole intl ie top of the dome 13 and .is exthe noveldevices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In practice, I have found that an efficient burner for fluid hydro-carbon fuels, such as kerosene, distillate and even crude oil, must be arranged for the concentric delivery of the fluid fuel and the air and that there must be a free end even clearance for the escape of the flames from the burner in all directions radially outward from the axis of the burner. I have also found that the combustion may be rendered more complete and more effective when a proper limited amount of water vapor is commingled with the air prior to the delivery of the air into the flame or into a mixture with the hydrocarbon vapor.

My invention provides a burnerhaving all of the above noted and other desirable characteristics. The preferred form of the improved burner is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in side elevation but with some parts sectioned and with some parts broken away, showing the improved burner installed within a hot water heater or burner; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the burner removed from the boiler or heater, some parts thereof being broken away.

The numeral 3 indicates a hot water heater or boiler having the customary grate 1, fuel door 5, ash pit 6 and ash door 7.

The improved burner comprises a heavy disk-like deflecting base v8 that is placed centrally on the grate i and is formed in its upper surface with a depressed annular basin..9, at the center of which is a raised apex 10, through which latter the fuel delivery pipe ll'extends upward to a point tends from a suitable source of fluid fuel supply, such as an elevated tank, not shown, andsaidpip e is provided with a valve 12, by means of which the flow of the fluid fuel may be controlled or out off, at'will.

*Concentrically located above the base 8 which is spaced above the basin 9, preferably by bearing lugs '14: formed 'on'said base. i v y A large air intake pipe 15 taps .an axial tended therefrom, first rearward and then ash pit. As shown, the pipe 15 is made up of sections and, for connection to the dome, it is flanged at 16. Located within the dome 13 and having an axial passage aligned with the axial passage of the top of said dome is a smallannular water trough 17, through the flanged upper edge of which bolts 18 to rigidly connect the saidelements 13, :15 and17 The upturned outer flange of the water trough 17 is spaced from the sides and top of the dome and water is sup plied thereto through a 'small water pipe 19. In this preferred arrangement, the water pipe 19 extends from a suitably supported elevated tank 20, the top of which is normally closed and made air-tight by a plug 21. Said tank is shown as supported from the heater by brackets 22, but it may be supported in any suitable way. The pipe 19 is provided with a regulating Valve 33 and it is extended inward, thence upward and thence downward through the air intake pipe 15 and, at. its delivery end, taps the trough 17 at a point materially below the upper edge of the outer flange of said trough. Vl ith this arrangement, the water will not be heated while in the pipe 19 and, hence, scale will not be formed within said pipe. When the water reaches the vapor pan 17, it will be subjected to heat and will be vaporized so that it will commingle with siren stares, r ENT Q CE- slightly above the same. This pipe 11 ex downward through the rear'of the grate t e and thence out through the ash pit 6, and terminates just outside of the front of said and the flange 16 are passed nut-equipped the air drawn into the dome 13 throu h the air pipe 15. The air will be broug t to a high temperature within the dome and will be commingled with the hot vapors and the two will be commingled with the hydro-carbon vapors generated on the base 8 and within the annular basin 9.

In starting the burner into action, a small amount of gasoline may be poured into the basin 9, but after the burner is in action, the base 8 will be kept so hot that the oil or hydro-carbon fluid, slowly running into the basin 9, will be quickly generated into vapor form. V

Surrounding the base 8, the grate 4 should be covered with ashes, cement or other substance so that all of the air that can be drawn into the combustion chamber of the furnace must come in through the air pipe 15. a. This will produce a strong downdraught through the dome so that the air and water vapor, not commingled with the hydro-carbon vapor, will be evenly drawn radially outward in all directions and thoroughly commingled with said hydro-carbon vapor so that an even flame will be produced in all directions around and outward from the dome. These flames will also be directed outward and against the surrounding side walls of the heater or boiler. Inasmuch as the top of the water tank is closed and the delivery end of the pipe 19 is below the top of the outer flange of the water or vapor trough 17, it follows that water to a predetermined level will be maintained in said trough because the flow of water will be automatically stopped whenever the water covers the delivery end of said pipe and will be automatically started whenever, the water falls low enough to open up the delivery end of the said pipe.

In actual practice, this improved burner has been found highly eflicient for the purposes had in view.

What I claim is:

1. A burner of the kind described comprising a base having an annular basin, a

fluid fuel supply pipe extended centrally through said base for discharge into said basin, a dome concentrically located over but spaced from said basin, an air intake pipe centrally connected to the top of said dome,

an annular water trough concentrically loa which the delivery end of said water pipe is below the top of said trough, and in further combination with a closed elevated water supply tank connected to the other end of said water pipe. 1

4:. A burner of the kind described comprising a metallic base having an annular basin, an approximately. cylindrical dome concentrically spaced above said basin and having an axial air intake passage in its top, an air intake tube having a flanged delivery end aligned with the air intake passage in the top of said dome, an annular water pan having a flanged central portion aligned with the air intake passage in the top of said dome, and bolts passed through the top of said dome and the flanges of said air intake passage and water trough and detachably but rigidly connecting said dome, air intake passage and pan.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 in combination with a water supply pipe extended through the air intake pipe and connected to said annular trough below the top thereof.

6. A heater having a combustion chamber, a fuel intake door, a grate and an ash pit, in combination with the structure defined in claim 3 in which said air intake pipe and water pipe extend from said dome rearward, thence downward through said grate and thence forward through said ash pit. I

In testimony whereof I aflix my si nature ULYSSES G. KNA FF. 

